Google Earth™ is Google’s satellite imagery-based mapping product that combines global coverage of imagery with new navigational features including integrated Google search capabilities. It is based on technology from Keyhole, a company acquired by Google in October 2004. Google Earth is a broadband mapping tool that enables users to fly from space to street level views to find geographic information, and to explore places around the world.

Google Earth is a free downloadable application for personal use. Users can also choose to buy one of two paid services: a higher-end consumer version, Google Earth Plus is $20/year; Google Earth Pro, for professional and commercial use, is $400/year. The paid versions offer a variety of tools for measuring, drawing, saving, printing and GPS device support. Google Earth is available in English only at the present time.

What differentiates Google Earth
Part flight simulator, part search tool
Most standard web-based map services make you click and wait for an illustration of a location to appear. But the Google Earth experience is measured in video metrics (frames per second), and the screen displays photo-realistic views taken from satellites. The fast, fluid flight enables free-form exploration of the globe. Users can zoom, tilt and rotate around whatever they see.
Explore
The combination of speed and photo-realistic images of the entire planet encourage people to explore places they didn’t know about before. And the beauty of the planet itself inspires inspection of volcanic lakes in Nicaragua, sand dunes in north Africa, and other landmarks across the globe.
Search
Google Earth fully integrates local search, including business listings and driving directions by tapping into the same business and routing databases accessed by Google Maps and Google Local services. And more than a web-based map, Google Earth fosters deeper research: the user can zero in on a location, tilt the view, measure distances to other points of interest, and see other attributes in order to complete the picture of the place.
Collaboration
Google Earth enables users to annotate the earth using “Placemarks.” They can add search results, driving directions and other information to their “My Places” area. This XML-based detail can easily be shared via email with other users.

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